


Landmark

by Cerulean_Phoenix7



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, Joker and Cortez also have cameos, Shepard and co. get sent on a fun errand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 13:39:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17726246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerulean_Phoenix7/pseuds/Cerulean_Phoenix7
Summary: In the midst of the Reaper war, Shepard is tasked with retrieving critical information from an Alliance base. Unfortunately, she's not the only one after it.





	1. Gone Dark

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this piece for Holiday Harbinger's holiday exchange on Tumblr. This is for katajanokka, who asked for something with Femshep/Liara. They also mentioned enjoying the adventure and the relationships between the characters, which I have incorporated into this story. The Commander Shepard in this story is katajanokka's own Shepard: Lynn Shepard. She is a spacer and a war hero, as well as a soldier and paragon. They also mentioned that one of their favourite characters is Tali, and that their own Shepard has a strong friendship with her, so I also gave Tali a significant role in this story.
> 
> This is set during Mass Effect 3, after Priority: Citadel II and the mission to Lesuss.

 “ _Message coming in from Admiral Hackett, Commander._ ”

 Lynn Shepard looked up from her study of the war table.

 “Understood, patch it through the war room, Joker.”

 Shepard turned and made her way up the steps towards the Quantum Entanglement Communicator, a critical method of communication in the Alliance. Only a few of them were known to exist, making it one of the most valuable pieces of technology in the galaxy.

 The holographic image rippled and then coalesced into the form of Admiral Hackett. Though his features were rendered in the soft blue of the projection, his eyes were clear and focused. His expression made Shepard feel as if she were standing on a precipice overlooking the sea and watching a rumbling storm gather in the distance.

 “Shepard, I need your help.”

 She nodded. “Of course, Admiral. What is it?”

 “One of our military bases just went dark. It’s a covert base, known only to high-ranking officers.”

 Shepard tilted her head. “Which now includes me?”

 Hackett didn’t pause. “In this case, yes. That base has highly sensitive information relating to Alliance operations and technical projects.”

 Shepard’s body stiffened and the hairs on her neck rose. “You mean the Crucible.”

 Hackett nodded grimly. “Yes. We had already issued evacuation and data cleansing orders, but the base went dark before we received the confirmation of the base’s data stores being wiped. They would have transferred that data to secure external storage before wiping the database. We need that data, Shepard.”

 She nodded. “I’ll get it back, Admiral.” She paused, her next question dangling on the edge of her tongue.

 “Admiral…what can we expect down there?”

 Hackett’s posture stiffened, and his hands clasped behind his back. When he spoke, his voice was low. “Before we lost contact with the base, we received data from their orbital scanners that indicated a large alien vessel had entered orbit.”

 “Reapers,” Shepard said.

 For a moment Hackett’s eyes met Shepard’s, and even through the communicator, Shepard saw a brief lull in the storm there. Among the parting clouds was a silent acknowledgement that this was not first incident like this, and far from the last.

 “If the Reapers gain access to our plans for the Crucible, then our chances of retaking Earth will be nonexistent.”

 Shepard inhaled and squared her shoulders. “I’ll get the data, Admiral, and I’ll destroy any Reaper that stands in my way.”

 Hackett nodded, his eyes focused once more. Briefly, the corners of his mouth appeared to slip upwards before returning to their neutral position.

 “Get the data, wipe the database, and get out.”

 Hackett reached beyond the view of the communicator, his arm moving in a steady downward motion. “I’ve sent the coordinates to you. The _Normandy_ is the closest ship, and you have some of the most advanced tech in the fleet. This is your top priority, Commander.”

 Shepard nodded. “I’ll get it done, sir.”

 Hackett’s arms dropped to his sides. “Good luck, Commander. Hackett out.”

 The hologram dissipated, dissolving Hackett’s form into a series of pixels. Shepard turned and marched out of the communicator hub, moving past the war table and Primarch Victus without pause.

 After passing through the scanner, Shepard maneuvered through the CIC to the galaxy map. A single touch brought up the coordinates that Hackett had relayed to them. It was a rocky moon with a thin atmosphere, if it could even be called that. It was in the same system as the Normandy.

 “Joker, set course for this moon. We’ve got a new mission.”

 Joker’s voice came over the comm systems, but Shepard also heard it echoing from the helm.

 “You got it, Commander.”

 “Tell Liara and Tali to meet me in the cargo bay with their gear.”

 “Will do. Have fun!”

 Shepard smirked. Joker had a knack for adding humor at the right moment. Most of the time.

 Shepard turned from the galaxy map and strode towards the elevator, nodding at Sam as she passed.

 Shepard entered the elevator swiftly, selecting the level for the shuttle bay without hesitation. As the doors closed before her, Lynn inhaled deeply. In her mind she saw an Alliance building shrouded in rumbling storm clouds, rain pelting against its battered walls and shattered windows. Figures limped out of the structure’s bones, limbs coiled in black and blue. A low, guttural moaning followed them, warning of something waiting in the darkness beyond.

 “Shepard?” A soft voice interjected.

  _Liara_.

 She stepped towards Shepard in the elevator and placed a hand on Lynn’s shoulder, “Are you alright?”

 Shepard opened her mouth to speak, but words failed to pass her lips.

 “You can tell me, Shepard,” Liara pleaded.

 Lynn’s shoulders dropped. “Just…wondering what we’ll find down there.”

 Liara’s hand drifted from Shepard’s shoulder down to her bicep. “I’ve been wondering the same thing. I know we can take small groups of their ground fighters, but who knows what kind of force they’ll have sent into an Alliance base.”

 “Probably a whole welcoming party,” Shepard drawled.

 “Perhaps,” Liara replied, her hand moving in a gentle up and down motion. “Perhaps we’ll have the element of surprise for once.”

 Shepard smirked. “Maybe. What I wouldn’t give for even the smallest edge right now. _Something_ that puts us ahead of the Reapers.”

 Liara stopped the motions with her hand and met Shepard’s eyes. “We have that. The Alliance has the designs for the Crucible. At this very moment some of the brightest minds in the galaxy are working on it!”

 “But you said those plans aren’t complete.”

 “Not yet, no. But we’ll find the missing piece.”

 Shepard allowed herself to smile; Liara’s confidence had flourished over the past years. Whether it was due to her experiences as an information broker or fighting to recover Shepard after the Collector attack, she wasn’t sure. But seeing the woman who was one of her most trusted friends and partner ready to face whatever hell awaited them on the moon below dissolved the dark images that had clouded Shepard’s mind.

 They would get through it, as they always did. Together.

 “Thank you, Liara.”

 Liara returned Shepard’s smile and leaned over to kiss Lynn’s cheek. “Anytime.”

 The elevator paused. Liara dropped her hand and moved to Shepard’s side. The doors opened, yielding the Normandy’s vast shuttle bay. Nearby, Shepard saw Tali at her weapon’s locker, methodically inspecting her shotgun. Further into the bay, Shepard saw Cortez diligently working on one the shuttles. Blinking lights illuminated his face while a series of _beeps_ responded to his efficient keystrokes. He paused from his work for a moment to greet Shepard and Liara. Though she could not hear him, Shepard suspected that Vega was nearby as well.

 Changing into her armor was a quick and methodical process. Each piece fit snugly to her body, almost like pulling on a second skin. She adjusted the armor pieces on her arms, the red and white stripe on the left arm beaming under the light of the cargo bay.

 It took Shepard only moments to select her weapons, her hands instantly reaching for a rifle that had seen her through many battles. The body of her Revenant bore several scratches and few notable gouges from previous battles, but it could still fire a shot. Her Scorpion, a remarkable find from Sur’Kesh, was clipped to her hip. She never went into any engagement with only one weapon. The guarantee of nearby ammo was inconsistent at best, and Shepard never wanted to discover how it felt to have her face mere inches from a husk with an empty thermal clip.

 Tali strolled over to them. “Hey, Shepard.”

 “Hey, you ready?”

 Tali waved a hand over her omni-tool, “Nearly, just double checking my suit seals.” Even through the faceplate Shepard could tell she was studying it closely.

 Liara, now fitted in her own silver and blue armor, moved to join them.

 Tali, seemingly satisfied with her suit inspection, shut off her omni tool. “So, the report I got said we’re heading to an Alliance base. Anything special about it?”

 “It’s a covert military intelligence base,” Shepard replied, “The only people who know about it are the ones who absolutely need to know.”

 “Which now includes us,” Liara interjected.

 Tali crossed her arms. “So, a secret military base. I take it there’s a good reason we’re heading there?”

 “It has critical data that the Alliance needs for the Crucible…and the Reapers are after it.”

 Tali inhaled. “I take it that’s why the Normandy activated its stealth systems?”

 Shepard nodded. “EDI hasn’t detected any Reaper signatures in orbit above the base, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a ship nearby. It’s probably safer if we assume there is one.”

 Liara and Tali both nodded.

 “The more precautions we can take to avoid a surprise attack by the Reapers, the better,” Liara added.

 “Do we know where the data is?” Tali asked. “I’m guessing that we can’t link to the station’s servers from the Normandy if we’re going down there ourselves.”

 “I had a look at the base’s layout,” Liara replied. “The most likely place would be the Command Center. It’s belowground, beneath the other two levels of the base.”

 “Then that’s our target.” Shepard moved away from the weapon’s bench towards the shuttle. “How are things looking, Cortez?”

 “Shuttle’s all set, Commander. All she needs is a pilot.”

 Shepard nodded. “Good. Let’s get this done.”

 Cortez nodded. He tapped a control that opened the shuttle’s doors. “Once you’re inside, I’ll find a quiet place to lay low until you’re ready for pick up.”

 Shepard nodded. “Let’s go.”


	2. The Descent

The journey to the base provided some of the most peaceful moments Shepard had experienced in months. The base was hidden on a moon that was tidally locked to a stunning gas giant in a system of five planets. At the edge of the goldilocks’ zone, there was still enough sunlight to illuminate the planet’s murky blue whorls. The patterns reminded Shepard of Jupiter in the Sol system. The moon punctuated the vista of the planet like a smooth piece of obsidian.

As they neared the moon, Cortez’s hands worked swiftly over the controls. “I’m picking up a large outcropping at the coordinates you gave, Commander. The skies are quiet out here.”

“Let’s hope they stay that way,” Liara said.

 Shepard studied the map of the region surrounding the base. “There.” She motioned to a point south-east of the outcropping. “Drop us there and we can make our way along the base of the ridge to the entrance.”

 Cortez nodded. “You got it, Commander.”

 As the shuttle skimmed through the atmosphere, Shepard moved from the cockpit to the middle of the shuttle. Despite the scans reading negative, Lynn suspected there would be something waiting for them in the shadows on that moon. The system itself was devoid of any noticeable life, and the moon had no other known structures, though that offered little comfort to Shepard. As the shuttle descended towards the moon’s surface, Shepard pulled her rifle from its holster. Caution was a luxury, and aggressive defence had become the new baseline. Liara and Tali moved to join Shepard at the door. Liara’s stance angled towards the shuttle door, and the tinge of blue glowing at her fingertips suggested that she was ready to unleash her biotics whenever necessary. Tali held her shotgun steady, ready to aim at the nearest enemy that dared to challenge them.

 “That base looks deserted, Commander,” Cortez called.

 “Let’s hope that’s actually the case,” Liara said, her eyebrows creasing. “As I recall, our luck with abandoned facilities is not particularly favourable.”

 Tali tilted her head. “What? You _don’t_ like fighting Rachni or swarms of husks in mouldy underground corridors?”

 Liara scowled. “No, I much prefer fighting them in crumbling facilities. That way, I have to consider potentially being impaled by falling debris _and_ fighting hostile creatures!”

 “Careful what you wish for,” Shepard interjected. “Who knows what shape that place is in. We may end up climbing through what’s left of it.”

 Liara frowned. “It’s not the state of the base that worries me, Shepard.”

 Tali’s silence conveyed a similar notion.

 Shepard let her rifle drop to her side and moved to Liara. She placed a hand on Liara’s shoulder, meeting her eyes. The bright blue of her irises caught the dim light of the shuttle, like a single candle burning in darkness.

 “Listen to me, both of you.” Shepard turned and made eye contact with Tali. “I don’t know what’s waiting for us down there, but regardless of that we have a mission to complete. We’re going to get that data and make it out of here _alive_.”

 Liara nodded. “I believe you, Shepard.”

 Tali moved to stand next to them. “So do I.” Tali looked to Liara, then to Lynn. “Shepard, we’ve been with you long enough to know that you can pull off some crazy things. This is no different. Not quite the same as a Collector Base, but you know what I mean.”

 Shepard smiled. “Thanks, Tali.”

 “I’m putting the shuttle down now, Commander.” Cortez informed them.

 “Understood,” Shepard replied. She pulled her helmet over her head and snapped the seals in place before heading to the door. Liara did the same, quickly snapping her new helmet into place before picking up her pistol. Tali, already equipped to handle the low oxygen environment thanks to her suit, was already positioned by the door.

 With a muffled _thump_ , the shuttle touched down on the surface. A mechanical _whoosh_ signalled the shuttle doors opening.

  _Here we go_.

 Shepard and her team quickly marched out of the shuttle and made for the shadow of the ridge before them. Her breathing echoed loudly in her helmet as she dashed for cover. By the time she and her team had made it there, the shuttle was gone.

  _Commander, do you copy?_

 Shepard pressed two fingers to her helmet’s communicator. “Loud and clear, Cortez.”

  _Good. Signal me when you’re ready, Commander._

 “Got it,” Shepard replied. She moved her fingers away from her communicator and back to her rifle. She, Liara and Tali were hidden in the shadow of a shallow ridge below the facility’s entrance. Ahead of them, the base of the ridge curved upwards and out of sight, carrying a slim amount of cover with it. Lynn studied the terrain around them; there was no better option.

 “Let’s go,” she said. Shepard crouched and moved swiftly along the shaded ground. Tali and Liara followed behind her. She picked up her speed when the path started to rise, her eyes scanning the ground ahead of them for cover. As the path continued upwards, the horizon parted to reveal a ghastly outcropping of rock. At first Shepard thought part of it had been eaten away, either by fierce weather or another phenomenon, but as she and her team inched closer she was able to make out more details.

 Imbedded in the rock were metal panels and beams, interspersed with a few dim lights that gave the place an eerie glow. There were no signs of damage that Shepard could see, and nothing strewn on the ground in front of the base. It was borderline idyllic.

 They took cover behind a cluster of rocks that gave them a direct view of the entryway.

 Tali peeked over the rock. “Looks pretty quiet, Shepard.”

 Liara was studying her omni tool, pressing a few decisive keystrokes every few moments.

 “My scans aren’t picking up any life signs nearby, but there appears to be a dampening field in place around the facility. Probably some kind of security measure.”

 Shepard eyed the entrance to the base. “Makes sense. That would keep us from scanning what’s inside the base.”

 Tali studied the readings on her own omni-tool. “Hmm…I can’t disable the field from outside. We’ll have to go in and shut it down.”

 “It’s probably in the same place as our data,” Shepard added. She glanced towards the door. “Alright, let’s go.”

 They moved swiftly without pause until they reached the entrance. When the door did not open automatically, Shepard attempted to pry it open with no success.

 Tali looked at her with an incredulous expression: “Shepard, you know there’s a keypad _right_ _here_ that I can hack into?”

 Lynn paused, her eyes glancing first to the keypad and then to her fingers before she released her grip. “Oh. That’s probably easier.”

 Tali chuckled. “That is one way of putting it.”

 With a few quick strokes on her omni tool, the lights on the keypad turned from a wary red to a disarming green. Shepard pulled on the handle once more, and miraculously, the door opened. It was heavier than Lynn had originally anticipated, and she quickly lost her grip on the handle. The door yawned open as the door creaked back before hitting the wall behind it with a loud _clang_.

 Inside the facility was dark, with no sound or light greeting them. Shepard flicked the flashlight within her rifle on and stepped inside.

 They were in a wide room with cargo containers on either side. In front of them, the room narrowed into a tunnel that continued off into the distance. The containers were untouched.

 Liara swept her own flashlight over the crates before moving to a console near the corridor. “It doesn’t look like anyone is here.”

 “Hmm…” Tali pondered the readings on her omni-tool, “That doesn’t mean we _are_ the only ones here.”

 Shepard crouched and swept the ground with her flashlight, searching for footprints or other signs of activity.

 “Ah, there it is!” Liara motioned at Tali and Shepard. “I believe you two will want to see this.”

 Shepard stood. “What is it?”

 Liara keyed a few commands into the console. A bright, three-dimensional diagram came up on the screen, displaying a structure with multiple levels. It had a wide top level with slanting pathways that led down into the deeper levels of the structure. Certain parts of the station were shaded red and overlaid with flashing icons.

“Looks like we picked the right door to knock on,” Shepard mused. The section they had entered was mostly undamaged, though the paths ahead of them were limited.

 Liara glanced over to Shepard. “Let’s hope we’re just as lucky with the remaining ones.”

 Lynn nodded. They would need to plot a path through the station, unless…

 “Tali, is there any way you can access the data we need from this console?”

 Tali shrugged. “I can try.” She crouched in front of the console and began fiddling with the wires.

 Liara stepped around Tali and towards Shepard. “That would certainly shorten this mission.”

 Shepard chuckled and lowered her rifle to her side. “Might even break a record for the shortest mission on record.”

 Liara raised a brow. “Oh? I thought that honor had been bestowed on your first meeting with the Shadow Broker? The one where you outright refused him?”

 Shepard made a playful grimace. “Technically it would, if it was on the record.”

 “Ah.” Liara crossed her arms. “And what about meetings with the current Shadow Broker? Are those also kept _off_ the record?”

 Shepard smirked. “Maybe. You know I would have to check the logs from six months ago, who knows what is still kicking around in the database.”

 Liara scowled, but the corners of her mouth betrayed a smile. “You would ha-”

 “ _Bosh’tet_!”

 Liara and Shepard both looked at Tali, who’s fingers were still fiddling through the console. “This is bad, Shepard.”

 Shepard and Liara dashed over to the console. “How bad?”

 Tali keyed a few commands into her omni-tool. “I can’t access the data because I can’t _find_ it in the system.”

 Liara inhaled sharply. “How?”

 Shepard looked at one teammate and then the other. “Could the Reapers have already found the data?”

 “Admiral Hackett did say that they detected a ship in orbit before we arrived,” Liara added.

 Shepard clenched her fist, resisting the urge to drive it into the console. If the data had already been accessed by the Reapers, then the war was about to dive into a deeper pit of hell. Shepard paced across the small space of the entrance room, drumming her fingers along the casing of her rifle. A shred of light passed over one of the cargo containers, illuminating its manifest. Shepard strode over to the container and leaned in to inspect the miniscule writing.

 Beneath a registry number and item count in clear, black font read: _External Storage Devices_.

 A light came on like a star in Shepard’s mind.

 Shepard turned on her heel. “Wait, Hackett said that the data was to be moved out of the database in case of emergency.” She strode back over towards Liara and Tali. “So, what if they already did that, but the drive never made it out?”

 “Shepard,” Liara cautioned, “The Reapers could already have it.”

 “But we don’t know that for certain,” she replied.

 Tali stood from the console, brushing off her uniform. “Shepard is right. We should confirm if the data is still in the facility or not.”

 Liara shifted her weight between each foot. “We should take out the dampening field then. That will allow us to scan the station and pinpoint the drive, if it is still here.”

 Shepard nodded. “Agreed. Do we know where the field is being generated from?”

 Tali tapped the console, eventually bringing up a diagram of a room in the shape of a hexagon. “Looks like its being emitted by some kind of portable generator, somewhere within this room.”

 “Reapers?”

 Tali shook her head. “Not sure. The base’s internal sensors can’t tell me much with the field active but judging by the alloy composition in the external plating of the generator, I’d say it’s least something from this galaxy.”

 “I’ll take it. I think that’s the best news we’ve had all day.”

 “Don’t push it, Shepard,” Tali warned.

 “I’m not!”

 Liara shook her head. “Please, both you, we need to get moving.”

 Shepard and Tali both nodded. The team assumed formation with Shepard taking point, and Tali and Liara behind her. They slowly moved off into the darkness, guided only by the soft glow of their flashlights. Eventually, they took a turn somewhere down in the abyss and their lights disappeared from the corridor. The hall then returned to its slumber, the air settling on the unopened cargo containers once more.

 

* * *

 

 The descent into the base was slow and dark. The light from all three of their flashlights only illuminated so much of the corridors and empty rooms. Each open door they passed was like a gaping maw that swallowed any light they offered to it. Some rooms were shut, their doors sealed against all intrusion. Others were partially open, frozen mid action for reasons unknown to them.

  _Power failure?_ Shepard noticed the scuff marks near the door’s centre seal. Maybe not.

 Liara appeared next to Shepard. “Are we too late?”

 Shepard shook her head. “It’s not too late unless we find out that the data is gone.”

 Steps away from them, Tali stared into an open room. “Too late for _them_ , though.”

 Shepard and Liara moved to Tali’s side and glanced into the same room. Four bodies lay scattered across the floor. All but one of the bodies faced away from the team. The one face Shepard could see was clasped in a grimace of terror and anguish. His eyes were wide and lifeless, mouth agape as if about to scream.

" _Norm- …hepard. W.. got ..emy ship …”_

Shepard pressed a finger to her comm link. “Say again, Joker?”

 Before Joker replied a shrill scream pierced the air, prickling the skin on her neck and arms. The team turned towards the origin of the scream-an empty doorway at the end of the hall, opposite to where they had entered.

 “Ready weapons and keep sharp.”

 Tali and Liara both nodded, holding their weapons close. Shepard snuck towards the end of the hall, careful not to disturb any of the rubble. She pressed her back to the wall when she reached the end and peeked through the doorway.

 Nothing.

 Shepard sighed. With the damping field still active, they were going to have to rely on visual readings for the time being.

 Lynn motioned for Liara and Tali to join her. Her squadmates moved to either side of the door, Liara on the same side as Shepard. Lynn gave a single nod and slipped through the doorway. She kept her flashlight at low level, her Revenant out and ready.

 The corridor was less empty than Shepard had thought. The walls bore marks reminiscent of deep gouges and smelled of gunfire. Bullet holes punctured the bulkheads like old wounds, but there were no bodies to be found.

 Shepard wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

 The corridor veered left and down ahead of them. What first appeared to be a wall of rock Shepard realized was debris blocking another path.

 As the path descended, Shepard measured her breathing. The hall was free of vents or doors; a single way in and out.

 “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Shepard,” Tali whispered.

 “Quiet!” Shepard hissed.

 A few more steps deposited the team into a new layer of the base. The ramp exited perpendicular to a corridor, one that appeared to turn out of view in either direction. The path to Shepard’s right was dark, but the turn down the hall to her left held a soft glow. Lynn crept forward, disabling her flashlight. The lighting in the corridor itself was low and grim. They passed an alcove that held a limp, dark figure. Shepard didn’t pause to check if it was human.

 At the bend in the corridor, Shepard tucked her rifle against her body and peeked down the next corridor.

 A single, dim light illuminated the space a little more than halfway down. Beneath the light were two grunting and grumbling figures, each with horribly deformed heads that looked like the flesh had bubbled up and nearly burst. Both were scanning their surroundings, eyes moving across the surface of the corridor. The cannibal closest to them glanced across the hall in front of it, pausing halfway.

 It looked directly at Shepard.

 Lynn quickly withdrew and pressed herself against the wall. Wet, hollow footsteps echoed down the hall. Shepard mouthed “get ready” to Tali and Liara as she prepared herself.

 When the cannibal rounded the corner, Shepard leapt at it. She pushed it into the wall, her arm angling against its neck. Its luminous mouth wailed like a dying star. Shepard unsheathed her omni-blade, its sharp edge glinting in the light, and thrust it into the cannibal’s throat. The creature made no sound, but Shepard felt its last breath of air trail across her face. It reeked of rotting flesh.

 Shepard let the body fall to the ground. Away from them came a crackling, rumbling sound, loud enough to shake the ground beneath Shepard’s boots.

 “Tali, power up your drone. Liara, I hope your biotics are ready.”

 “They always are.” Liara said as small blue tendrils whisked across her skin.

 Tali tapped a few commands into her omni tool. A transparent blue orb materialized in front of her, its holographic skin swirling.

 “You’re up, Chitikka.”

 Shadows crawled along the wall before them. Wicked arms reached out of the masses to grab at the remaining light before disappearing once more. Aching moans throttled the air as Shepard keyed in commands for incendiary ammo rounds on her rifle.

 Two cannibals lumbered around the corner, followed by a third, and then a fourth. Husks poured from the edges of the hall like rats, rushing toward the team.

 Shepard fired a few bursts into the nearest husks, reducing them to ashes. A warp blast decimated the following three. Tali’s drone dashed past them and launched itself directly into the face of the lead cannibal, stunning it with a fury of electrical lightning that jumped to the cannibals behind it. Two fell, while the third limped forward and swiped its grimy claw through the drone. The drone’s colour went from a bright blue to a soft purple as it went in for a second assault.

 “Get. Off. _Me!_ ” Tali pushed an attacking husk away from her before unleashing her shotgun on it. The husk crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

 Shepard fired more rounds at the remaining cannibals, setting them ablaze. Chitikka’s glowing red form weaved amongst the flames, delivering a final shot before exploding. The cannibals stumbled and collapsed onto the ground, their bodies continuing to burn. 

 Four husks remained. Each one moved toward Shepard and her team at a remarkable speed. Shepard backed away to replace the heat sink in her rifle, her eyes moving from each husk to determine how long she had before she would have to break out her pistol.

 Liara stepped in front of Shepard. With a single motion she launched a burst of biotics into the wave of husks, catching them all in a biotic singularity. As the limp husks tumbled in the well of rolling energy, Tali took out each one with her shotgun.

 The singularity dispersed a moment later and the husks fell to the floor.

 “Thank goodness that’s over,” Liara said.

 Tali holstered her shotgun. “Yes, but we still need to find out about that data. Hopefully we cleared out the welcoming party.”

 A deafening screech peeled through the corridor, piercing Shepard’s bones like knives.

 “Oh no,” Liara whispered.

 From the corner where the other Reaper soldiers had emerged, a single banshee stepped forward. The flickering light caught the edges of its long, wiry arms and deformed face. When it opened its mouth, its shriek shuddered through them all.

 “ _Keelah,”_ Tali whispered. “Is that?”

 “More of the welcoming party,” Lynn interjected. “Might want that shotgun back out, Tali.”

 Tali scrambled to draw her shotgun. The banshee locked eyes with Shepard and warped forward, the destabilized space reacting with a frightening _fwump_ sound.

 Liara launched another singularity, catching the banshee square in the chest when it exited its warp path. It stopped momentarily, then continued towards the team. Shepard and her comrades split, dodging around the banshee.

 The creature stopped. Its turn was slow, as if its limbs were anguished by the motion. When it faced the team again its face was caught in the fractured light of the corridor, illuminating its gaunt features.

 Shepard felt the muscles in her neck and shoulders tighten. They needed to hurry.

 The banshee opened its mouth and screamed. Its body bent with the motion, as if the wail were almost too powerful for its body. Electric blue arcs bloomed along one its clawed hands, forming a blazing ball of biotic energy.

 “Look out!”

 The biotic burst flew at Shepard and Liara. Shepard dodged the blast by rolling away from it, while Liara leapt for the closest wall, narrowly avoiding the blast. 

 Shepard moved back into a standing position as the banshee crept forward.

 “Liara! Can you hit it with a warp blast?”

 Liara nodded, steadying herself. “Yes, I believe so.”

 Shepard nodded. “Do it. Let’s finish this.” She turned to Tali, tossing her a thermal clip. “Here! Incendiary rounds.”

 Tali looked stunned. “Thanks, you know these would have been useful earlier!”

 Shepard aimed her rifle at the approaching banshee. “Was a little occupied!”

 The banshee lurked towards Shepard and Tali, its mouth half open in a terrifying expression of hunger and despair. Its arms hung at its sides, where the long, razor-sharp claws at its fingertips threatened to scrape the floor. If it got too close the team would be within reach of it.

 Liara, having gathered her biotic strength, charged a warp blast that struck the banshee broadside. While the blue glow of the warp field clung to the creature, Shepard and Tali fired multiple rounds of incendiary ammo at the banshee. It wailed in protest, taking another step and reaching a gangly, clawed hand out to grab Shepard. She and Tali managed to evade it, with Shepard ducking beneath the creature’s grasp before rolling towards Liara.

 When she came out of her roll, she saw the banshee moving towards Tali. Her quarian squadmate was attempting to get out of the banshee’s path while firing shots at the creature, but she would be cornered soon if the creature wasn’t distracted.

 “Hey!” Shepard yelled.

 The creature froze, then turned and lumbered towards Shepard. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the blue glow of Liara’s biotics. Shepard charged a concussive blast on her rifle, aiming directly for the banshee’s face.

 “ _Now_ ,” she said.

 A black orb of energy rippled past Shepard’s face, careening through the dark space before colliding with the banshee’s chest. Blue energy spread over the creature’s body, pulsating like a current.

 Shepard fired.

 The shot hit precisely where she’d intended it to. In a sharp, painful wail, the banshee crumbled to the ground before disintegrating. Ashes remained where it had stood moments earlier.

 Tali walked over, shotgun still in hand. “Hopefully that was the last of them.”

 Liara shook her head. “We can’t be certain until we’re able to scan the facility. We should get to the Command Center and see if the data is there.”

 Shepard looked up from the ashes on the floor. “Liara’s right. Believe me, as much as I’d like that pile of dust to be the last Reaper on this rock we can’t be sure. Let’s go.”

 Her squadmates nodded and they continued down the corridor, approaching the door where the cannibals had stood guard earlier. It was sealed, with a red overlay glaring against the smooth metal.

 “Of course it’s locked,” Shepard remarked.

 Tali eyed the panel. “We’ll see about that.”

 She moved to the panel next to the door and knelt beneath it. With a few motions she pried the metal cover from the wall, exposing the tangle of circuitry beneath. Shepard followed some of Tali’s hand motions, noting certain wires being reconnected, and data chips being switched. Shepard was still trying to figure out where the last chip went when Tali unlocked the door.

 “Guess they never expected a Quarian to end up here.”

 Liara glanced at Tali. “If they did, we’d likely be seeing something more advanced, like fractal encryption.”

 Tali chuckled. “Please, I could decipher fractals in my sleep.”

 Shepard glanced at the both of them. “Quiet down. Don’t want anyone on the other side of this door to hear us.”

 Her squadmates fell silent as Shepard pressed the entry request key in the center of the door. The green overlay faded, and the doors flew open.


	3. Ridley

What lay before them in the Command room was nothing short of a nightmare. Two massive brutes, each twice the size of a Krogan, loomed on either side of the room. A group of marauders stood at the front of the room, attempting to access a console. Within the room, gathered together like insects, were dozens of husks.

 The brutes and marauders did not react as Shepard had expected. The husks, on the other hand, rushed for the team, hands ready to grab whoever was closest. Shepard and her squad grouped together. Their weapons raised, they fired at the approaching husks. Liara gathered several of the husks in a powerful singularity, scooping the husks from the ground before they were tossed away.

 After the first group of husks fell, the brutes gained interest. Across the room, one moved so it was directly in line with Shepard and her squad. Its body coiled, and it charged forward.

 “Look out!”

 Shepard, Liara, and Tali ducked inside a fallen slab of rock as the brute charged past, connecting with the wall behind them. Shepard heard the audible _thunk_ as the brute made impact. For the moment, the debris shielded them from view.

 From her crouched position, Shepard motioned for Liara and Tali to move towards the opposite wall, away from the Reaper group. Husks scurried along the rubble, their eerie low growl sinking into Shepard’s bones.

 She locked eyes with Liara for a moment as they crawled along the rubble. Despite Liara’s hardened façade, there was a hint of fear in her blue eyes; a certain sense that this mission could go wrong with the slightest misstep.

 Tali was ahead of them, surveying the path. Shepard looked back at Liara and mouthed “it’ll be okay” to her.

 Liara acknowledged it with a shallow nod. It was all Shepard needed.

 Tali had nearly reached the end of the tunnel when the exit collapsed. A loud roar followed, signalling the brute had found them. A moment later, Shepard heard loud impact sounds hitting the tunnel from behind her. The rock cracked with ease, crumbling at Shepard’s feet and trapping them inside.

 Liara glanced at both sealed points. “This could be a problem.”

 Tali had turned around to face Shepard and Liara. “What about your biotics?”

 Liara’s eyebrows rose. “It’s possible, but I’m not sure if it would free us or bring the rest of this debris down on our heads.”

 A loud _slam_ answered her.

 Shepard glanced up, noticing fresh cracks crawling across the debris. “We don’t have a choice.”

 Liara inhaled and nodded. “Stay close to me.”

 Shepard and Tali huddled close to Liara. The asari pooled biotic energy into her hands, the great blue glow illuminating the space around them. The air rippled around them as the energy grew, pulling uncomfortably at Shepard’s skin. Liara’s eyes were focused on the biotic orb nestled in her hands, her brows slanted in concentration. Her focus then moved to the impassable wall in front of them, and with a single, determined motion, she unleased her biotic force on it.

The rock exploded.

 Dust burned in Shepard’s nostrils and coated her tongue as she dashed out of the rubble. Through coughing, she saw two marauders take aim at her team. She aimed her rifle and fired a series of quick shots, taking out one of them. The second one fired, narrowly missing Tali. The quarrian engineer activated her drone and sent it after the marauder. Shepard hoped it would subdue it, as they had plenty still to handle.

 Shepard sliced through three more husks with her omni-blade as Liara deflected one with her biotics. The stragglers were stumbling towards the team, still ferociously driven to destroy them. Liara and Tali disposed of them with their own weapons, finally eliminating the last of the husks.

 The brutes, who had begun circling them, seized the moment to charge. Shepard pushed Liara and Tali out of range and dodged the first brute. The second one pinned her with its shoulder against her collar, ramming her into the wall behind her. Her rifle flew from her hands, landing well out of reach.

 Her lungs emptied on impact. Her body screamed for air, gasping for a single ounce of oxygen. In her desperation, she met the brute’s piercing stare. Its eyes were infinite pools of blinding blue light cocooned within rotting flesh. The stench from its body assaulted her nose, making her want to gag. She tried to push back on it, but the pressure from its oversized limb was too strong. In her periphery she saw motion and turned her head to see the brute raising its mechanical clawed hand to strike her.

 She had no out, no defenses. Her pistol was out of reach. The brute could easily deliver lethal force.

_Shit, no. Not now. NOT NOW._

Shepard grimaced and braced herself for the impact.

A crackling _smack_ rippled through the air, but Shepard felt no impact. The brute’s hold weakened for a moment, finally allowing her to take a breath. She blinked and saw Liara firing biotic warp bursts at the creature.

Liara’s entire body rippled with furious biotic energy. “Release her!” She charged another burst, aiming right for the brute’s head. The burst landed, knocking the brute off balance and releasing Shepard from its grip.

“Shepard, move!” Liara shouted.

Shepard gasped and frantically scrambled for her Revenant. When her fingers finally clasped around the handle, she turned and emptied as many shots as she could into the brute before her rifle overheated. She backed away as her gun cooled. Liara attempted to hold it in a stasis field, but it was too strong. Lynn raised her weapon and fired again, and with a final cry the brute fell into the rubble.

Panting, Shepard walked over to Liara and put a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks, Liara.”

Liara nodded, her expression still tense. “No problem.”

Shepard dropped her hand and looked around them. “Where’s Tali?”

From across the room, they both heard a voice call out: “I could use some help over here!”

Tali was dodging the second brute, who had focused solely on her. Tali’s drone attempted to distract it, but it was dangerously low on health.

“Hang on, Tali!” Shepard and Liara dashed across the room, leaping over piles of rubble and steel beams. While sprinting, Liara sent another biotic burst that knocked the brute off balance, giving Tali additional room to reunite with the rest of the team.

“Are you alright?” Liara asked.

Tali met Liara with a fixed look. “Yeah, let’s just take this thing down.”

Liara nodded. The team faced the brute and opened fire. The creature staggered, attempting to regain its balance, but it was futile. Liara hit it with a second warp burst that Shepard followed with a concussive shot. The combination exploded into the hide of the brute, knocking it to the ground. Tali fired two more rounds from her shotgun, defeating the final enemy in the room.

“We need to check the data console,” Liara said.

Tali strode over to the center console at the front of the room and tapped a few keys. She shook her head and entered more complex commands into the console.

“It’s not here,” she said. “This entire console has been wiped, and I can’t access a secondary database. Either its been wiped or it doesn’t exist.”

Shepard frowned. “Could the Reapers have already gotten the data and wiped the database afterwards?”

Tali shook her head. “No. There would be a trace in the system. There is a record of a deletion, but it’s a few hours old. Likely happened as the Reapers were arriving.”

Liara strode up the console. “Could it be the Alliance personnel who were stationed here? Maybe there are survivors?”

Tali looked up from her console. “If there are, we won’t be able to find them with that dampening field still up.”

Shepard scanned the room. “Do you know where the field is being emitted from?”

Tali activated her omni-tool and entered in a series of commands. She paused until more data flowed across the tool’s screen.

"Hmm. The field’s still too strong to break down the exact location, but I have an idea.”

Liara raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “What do you have in mind?”

Tali activated her drone, its body glowing a soft blue. “Chiktikka can pinpoint sources of high energy. We use it for finding power sources for the Migrant Fleet if we’re out on scavenging missions. This dampening field doesn’t have a uniform energy distribution across its range, so I can tell Chiktikka to track this particular energy signature and look for the strongest point in its energy field. That should lead us to the source.”

Tali entered a few commands through her omni-tool and the drone flew away across the room. It dashed around a pile of rubble before settling in front of it. The drone chirped triumphantly.

“Looks like it found the source,” Shepard said.

The team moved to the pile of rubble that Tali’s drone had indicated. They picked up pieces of rock and metal and moved them aside, finally unveiling the source of the dampening field.

It was a black pod, peppered with glowing blue markings. A large circle glowing with the blue energy marked the top of the device.

“Reaper tech,” Liara whispered. “I thought you said it the emitter was from this galaxy?”

“I said _likely_ from this galaxy,” Tali replied. “The field was preventing me from getting a clear scan.”

Liara looked to Shepard. “We need to destroy this immediately.”

Shepard drew her rifle. “You’ll get no argument from me.”

Tali held up her hand. “Wait! Shepard are you sure that destroying this thing won’t bring down the entire facility with it?”

Lynn lowered her rifle. “The other sources of Reaper tech we’ve destroyed have been much larger than this. I think the worst that this will do is make a hole in the floor.”

“I’m sure the Alliance won’t mind a little redecorating,” Liara chimed.

Shepard aimed at the emitter and gave the order to fire. The device crumpled within seconds, emitting a small explosion that rocked the floor. When it was over, a small crater remained where the device had once been.

Tali leaned over the crater. “Well, it wasn’t as big of a hole as I was expecting.”

“Makes a nice center piece,” Shepard chimed. “Let’s find out where that data is.”

Liara and Tali both nodded before making their way to separate consoles. Tali to the center and Liara to one along the back wall. Liara was only at her console for a few moments before called them over.

“Shepard, Tali, over here!”

Shepard dashed over. “What is it?”

Liara activated her omni-tool, her blue eyes studying its readout before flicking back to the console.

“This back wall has space behind it…and there are life signs in there.”

Shepard’s mind immediately jumped to _survivors_ , but she reigned her idealism in to consider other options. She would not put it past the Reapers to set a trap.

“Are they human?”

Liara checked her scans again, keying commands into her omni-tool before nodding. “Yes, they are.”

“What about the rest of the base?” Tali asked.

“I’ll look,” Liara volunteered. She collapsed a holographic panel of information on her tool and entered a series of new commands, her fingers fluttering across the digital keys.

Liara’s expression grew more tense as the data rolled in. Her smooth, black brows scrunched tightly on her forehead as her lips smoothed into a flat, blue line on her face.

Liara shook her head and dropped her arms. “There are no other life-signs, Shepard. We need to get the survivors out of here.”

Shepard nodded. “Then we need to open this wall up. Tali, is there any way to open it from the console?”

Tali dashed back to the center console. “Let me have a look.”

The quarrian studied the console, huffing as she furiously pressed multiple keys on it. “I think I can access the door, but it’s under a lot of encryptions. Give me a minute.”

Shepard studied the door. If not for Liara’s scans it would be unmistakable from another wall in the room. Marred with myriad burns and gouges from weapons fire, it was a wonder that it had not been brought down by the Reapers already.

Liara moved to Shepard’s side. “Shepard, the Reapers were here before us…what if the survivors have been indoctrinated?”

Shepard’s jaw hardened, and her mouth went dry. She had seen the effects of indoctrination before and was not keen on witnessing it again.

“Let’s hope not,” she whispered.

“I’ve got it!” Tali exclaimed.

A loud mechanical _clunk_ resounded through the room. The wall in front of Shepard parted like a metal curtain, crawling back into the recesses to yield the space beyond.

Shepard and Liara approached the newly revealed room, with Tali close behind them. Their weapons were drawn, though Shepard hoped they wouldn’t need to use them. The room was lit with minimal lighting, revealing the outline of a few shapes. Shepard noted cargo containers of varying sizes as she scanned the room.

A shadow shifted in the muted light.

Shepard whirled and shone her flashlight in its direction. Caught in its beam, a single human man attempted to block the harsh light with his hands.

“Who is that?”

Shepard lowered her light away from his face. “Commander Shepard, from the _Normandy_.”

A second figure stepped forward from the darkness. “Shepard? Thank God. We thought we finished for a while there.”

“Far from it,” Shepard replied. “Are there more survivors with you?”

The second person moved into Shepard’s light, revealing a woman with bronze skin. “Yes, there’s six of us in total. We were the only ones that made it to the safe room before the Reapers overwhelmed the facility.”

Liara stepped forward. “Did anyone in your group access a secure data file before coming in here?”

The two survivors exchanged puzzles glances.

“No,” the woman replied. “There wasn’t even time to grab a pistol before I came here.”

“You’re sure?”

The man Shepard had first encountered stepped in. His pale complexion was speckled with ginger stubble and his red hair was dishevelled.

“Look, we had a horde of fucking Reapers breathing down our necks. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I was more concerned with keeping myself alive.”

Shepard strolled to meet the man, standing within arm’s reach of him. His brown eyes were clear but distant, haunted by something Shepard wished that she didn’t also know.

“Listen,” Shepard said calmly, “I know you’re afraid. Everyone is. The Reapers are hell-bent on destroying everything we’ve ever known. But we’re going to stop them. That’s why I’m here.”

Shepard glanced at the woman, her eyes searching for some grain of hope.

“There was information stored in this base that is critical to stopping the Reapers. My team and I searched for it, but it’s been deleted from your database. There is nothing indicating that the Reapers downloaded it themselves. Which means that someone from the base must have downloaded it prior to deleting the original file.”

The woman shook her head. “That’s not possible. Files are not just deleted here; you need a second Alliance officer confirmation in order to do so.”

“Or high enough clearance, Doctor Salini,” a voice interjected.

Shepard stepped around the red-haired man. “Who is that?”

A woman emerged from the shadows. Her alliance uniform was tattered, with one sleeve missing. Her expression was stoic and her mouth placid. Lines trailed beneath her eyes and across her forehead. Her auburn hair was pulled back, but a few strands had fallen out of place.

“My name is Admiral Ridley, Commander.”

Shepard saluted her. “Admiral.”

Ridley shook her head. “Please, there’s no need for formalities. I can answer your questions, but first we need to leave this facility before the Reapers return.”

“With all due respect, Admiral, I am under orders to bring back that information.”

Ridley’s voice grew terse. “You will get it, Commander. Once we leave this base.”

Shepard nodded. “Fine. Can the rest of the survivors walk?”

Ridley nodded. “Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

 


	4. Escape

They were halfway up the slanted corridor when Shepard’s radio crackled to life.

  _Shepard, do you copy? This is_ Normandy. _We’ve got a serious problem up here._

 Shepard pressed her communicator.

“What’s going on, Joker?”

  _The Reaper ship is back in orbit, Commander. I’ve been keeping them busy, but they’re positioning themselves above the base. Might be time to get out of there._

 “We’re on our way, and we’ve got survivors.”

  _Super. Might want to give Cortez a heads up._

 “Will do, Shepard out.”

 Shepard adjusted the frequency on her communicator. “Cortez, do you copy?”

  _Loud and clear, Commander_.

 “We’re returning to the entrance of the base, and we have survivors.”

  _Understood, Commander. I’ll be waiting for you._

 “Understood,” Shepard replied.

 They continued up the corridor, eventually reaching the same hall that contained the abandoned rooms. Shepard tried to divert the survivors from looking inside them.

 They had passed the second room when an incredible quake rocked the room. Shepard struggled to keep her balance as Tali and Liara leaned on one another to keep themselves from falling.

 Shepard pressed her communicator. “Cortez, what the hell is going on up there?”

  _The Reaper ship is targeting the facility!_

A second blow shook the room, sending debris falling around them. Tali stepped out of the path of a massive beam as it crashed to the ground.

  _Commander, get out of there!”_

 Shepard turned toward her team and the survivors. A degree of fear lingered in each of their faces.

 “Run, _now_!”

 The group rushed through the rest of the room, making it through the doorway as a pile of rubble came down behind them and sealed it. Shepard pushed forward, leading them through the winding corridors that eventually led to a familiar passage.

 Shepard was about to call to the group when the corridor ahead of them collapsed.

 “Shit,” she muttered.

 Liara glanced at the rubble and then to the survivors. “There has to be another way out. Where can we go?”

 “The emergency shuttles,” Ridley said. “They’re not far from here and will still have power.”

 Shepard nodded. “Lead the way.”

 Ridley took point in the group, with Shepard guarding the rear as they ventured back into the base. Veering down the opposite corner they had gone down before, they made a few more turns before stopping in front of a parted set of doors. Inside, Shepard could see the remains of two shuttles, and one crushed beneath a pile of rubble. The centre of the room was an open area that fell deep into the base.

 “Is that all of them?”

 Ridley shook her head, pushing her way through the space in the door. “No, there should be at least five shuttles in the bay.”

 Shepard and her team followed, helping the other survivors climb through. Tali joined the Admiral in a visual scan for the shuttle.

 “There!” Tali pointed to an area to the left of them. Shepard glanced down and saw an intact shuttle huddled on a landing platform.

 “That’s our way out. Ridley, can you and your people climb down to the shuttle?”

 Ridley nodded. “There will be an access ladder down to the shuttle. But we won’t be able to get out of here with the bay doors sealed.”

 “Tali, can you hack the doors?”

 A massive tremor rocked the base before she could answer.

 “I don’t think we time for that, Shepard,” Tali replied.

 Shepard looked back to the Admiral. “Do the shuttles have weapons?”

 Ridley raised an eyebrow. “Yes, if you can call them that.”

 “They’ll do. Let’s get out of here.”

The team moved quickly along the quaking path to the ladder. Half of them had descended when the base rocked again. Dr. Salini lost her footing on the ladder and slipped, but Shepard reacted quickly enough to catch her arm before she fell.

 “Thank you, Commander,” she said.

 Shepard nodded.

 The rest of the group made it down safely. They pried open the shuttle door and piled inside. Tali and Liara quickly powered up the shuttle while Shepard took the helm. She activated her communicator.

 “Cortez, can you hear me?”

  _Loud and clear, Commander._

“Slight change of plans. We’re taking an emergency shuttle out of the base. Follow us back to the _Normandy_ and avoid the Reaper ship.”

  _Understood, Commander. You better get out of there ASAP_.

 “That’s the plan. Shepard out.” She activated the shuttle’s thrusters while Tali took the console next to her and Liara stood immediately behind them.

 Shepard raised the shuttle from the hanger floor. “Hang on, everyone!”

 The shuttle glided forward. The falling debris presented a challenge for Lynn as she had to weave the shuttle between the tumbling beams and rock.

 A large metal door emerged ahead of them, with twin red lights marking both side of it.

 Shepard steadied the shuttle. “Tali, fire at those doors. We’re only going to get one shot at this.”

 Tali nodded. “I know. Believe me I don’t want to end up as a new wall decoration.”

 Bright pulses flew from the shuttle and collided with the doors, shredding through their metallic skin and crippling them. The metal twisted and fell away, revealing the rocky surface of the moon.

 Shepard launched the shuttle forward, leaving the base behind them.

  _Commander, I see your shuttle_ , Cortez announced. _I’m right behind you._

 Liara motioned out the left window. “Shepard, Tali, _look_ ”

 Straddling the surface of the moon was a single Reaper moving in a slow patrol as a deadly red beam reached out from its underbelly to slice through the base. The beam cut through with ease, levelling another portion of the facility. Starlight glinted off the Reaper’s smooth exterior, catching the sharp point at the tip of its form as it fired at the base again. The beam carved through the remnants of the base that remained, sending them crumbling in a cloud of dust that rose into the sky.

“We should leave before that Reaper decides to follow us,” Tali advised.

Shepard nodded, eyes still transfixed on the wreckage below. She turned away from the window and entered the commands to take the shuttle back to the _Normandy_.

Below them, the Reaper surveyed the decimated base, searching for a single target that was no where to be found, and oblivious to the single ship in orbit that quietly disappeared into the void.


	5. Onward

“You said you had information for me, so where is it?” Shepard asked across the war table.

Admiral Ridley crossed her arms. “I have the data on the Crucible, but I will be delivering it to the project myself, as per my orders.”

Shepard leaned against the table, briefly eyeing the projected galaxy map that hovered just above its surface.

“My orders were to get that information to Admiral Hackett.”

Ridley’s brows lowered. “You can tell Admiral Hackett that the information has been recovered and I will see to its personal delivery to the Crucible project.”

Shepard opened her mouth to respond, but the Admiral cut her off. “The matter is closed, Commander.” Ridley turned to leave, but at the door she turned back towards the table. “The rest of the galaxy is your focus now, Commander. I suggest you get started.” Ridley then walked out the door and disappeared around the corner.

Shepard let out a sigh, letting her head drop slightly. The war room was empty, save for a few technicians that would act as if the previous conversation had never occurred. Lynn lifted her eyes to the galaxy map. Red sections of the map indicated areas of confirmed Reaper invasion, while blue marked territory that the Alliance still held. Currently, the red was sweeping in on the blue, closing in on the remaining Alliance territory like a great, hungry mouth ready to bite down on the last front of liberty in the galaxy.

_Commander, there’s an incoming message from Admiral Hackett_.

Shepard stood up. “Patch it through to the war room, Joker.”

Shepard walked up the steps and entered the small room that held the Quantum Entanglement Communicator, where Hackett’s image awaited her.

"Commander, I understand that you were able to retrieve the data?”

“In a way, yes.”

A puzzled expression passed over Hackett’s face. “What do you mean?”

Shepard clasped her hands behind her back. “We met another Alliance Admiral in the base, sir. Admiral Ridley. She informed me that she has the Crucible data but refused to allow my team access to it. She said she would see it personally delivered to the Crucible.”

Hackett nodded. “I see. I’ve met Ridley a few times. She’s known for being very direct.”

Shepard nodded. “On that she did not disappoint.”

“I’m sure. If she said she will deliver the data herself then that’s what will happen. Ridley isn’t one to go back on her word.”

Shepard pursed her lips. “Admiral, permission to speak freely?”

Hackett nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Is there any reason Admiral Ridley wouldn’t trust my team to handle the data?”

Hackett shook his head. “It’s not your team, Shepard. It’s your previous allegiances.”

Shepard’s shoulders sagged as she nodded in understanding. “Cerberus.”

Hackett fixed his gaze on Shepard, his tone even and serious. “I know you are no longer with them, and that partnership is behind you. So do many others. But to some, all allegiances matter regardless of when they happened.”

Shepard pressed her lips together, resisting the rebuttal that was coiling on her tongue. The shadow of Cerberus was likely to follow her to her grave.

Hackett sensed Shepard’s pause and continued. “What happened to the base?”

“It was destroyed by a Reaper,” Shepard replied.

There was a small but visible drop in Hackett’s shoulders. “I see. Were there other survivors other than Admiral Ridley?”

Shepard nodded. “We found six including the Admiral. We’re taking them to the Citadel now.”

“Good,” Hackett replied. “We’ll transfer them to the Crucible project; we need all the help we can get.”

“Understood,” Shepard said.

Hackett straightened his posture. “There’s one other thing. We’re getting reports of high activity, some of it from Reapers, near the Perseus Veil. Investigate it as soon as you can. The last thing we need is the Reapers allying themselves with the Geth.”

“I will, Admiral.”

Hackett gave Shepard one final, solitary nod. “Good luck out there, Commander. Hackett out.”

Hackett’s hologram fizzled away. Shepard dropped her arms to her sides and walked out of the communicator room. She passed through the war room quickly, ignoring the stares of the technicians as she walked by. Once through the scanner, she went directly to the elevator and took it down to the crew quarters level.

She needed to clear her head.

She strolled, calmly but quickly, to the room left of the dining area. A few crew members were gathered around the table, creating a soft hum of chatter in the room. Shepard held up her hand against the scanner outside Liara’s room, waiting as it scanned her hand print before turning bright green and granting her access.

The doors parted, revealing Liara at work in front of her plethora of monitors. Glyph hovered near the door, likely completing tasks or information sweeps.

Liara looked up from her console. “Hello, Shepard. Do you need me for something?”

Shepard shrugged. “Honestly? Just wanted to stop by, spend a few minutes, if you’re free.”

Liara stepped away from her console. “Sure, something on your mind?”

Shepard sat down on a crate opposite Liara’s work station. “More like several things.”

Liara’s brow rose. “Well, I don’t know if I can help with all of them, but I can try.”

Shepard sighed. “Do you think we’re gonna win this? We’ve been fighting and fighting, but it’s like throwing sticks at a wall.”

Liara sat down next to Shepard and placed her hand over hers. “You can’t forget the smaller victories you’ve had, Shepard. Menae, Sur’Kesh, Tuchanka. Those were victories in their own ways, and they have helped the fight against the Reapers.”

“But not stop them.”

“You won’t stop them on your own,” Liara implored. She picked up Shepard’s hand and held it between both of hers.

“Lynn, the entire galaxy is ready to rally behind you. I know they will. All they need is the right encouragement. That’s why we’re doing this, visiting these places. To show them that there is a force uniting against the Reapers, and you’re the one leading it.”

Shepard wrapped her hand around Liara’s. “I hope you’re right. Sometimes I feel like I’m just spouting hot air to people that barely give a shit.”

“They do,” Liara said. “You’ve shown the Turians, Salarians and Krogan that.” She leaned forward and kissed Shepard’s cheek. “Now you just have to show the rest of them.”

Shepard placed her hand against Liara’s face, gently cupping her cheek. The asari leaned into Shepard’s touch, briefly closing her eyes and smiling.

Across the room, Glyph chimed to life. “Dr. T’Soni, there is new information available for you.”

Liara opened her eyes and glanced at her console. “What is it about, Glyph?”

“The Alliance base that was recently destroyed by a Reaper.”

Liara and Shepard looked at each other. Shepard dropped her hand, and they both stood and walked over to Liara’s console. She opened the data packet, unveiling a host of images. At first, Shepard though they were just images of an asteroid’s surface, but when she looked closer she saw the jagged crater where the base had once stood.

"Is that…the base?”

“What used to be, yes,” Liara added, fingers flying over her console. “It looks like the Reaper heavily reduced the rubble after we evacuated.”

Shepard was puzzled. “Why spend the extra time?”

Liara didn’t look up from her console. “Likely to make sure there are no survivors.”

Shepard shook her head. “I really don’t want to look at this right now.”

Liara placed a hand on Shepard’s arm, her blue eyes imploring her to stay. “Wait. Shepard, I know this is hard to see, but try to think of it like this. You see this as another mark of destruction by the Reapers, but what if it is also a mark of survival?”

Shepard felt her face clench. “How?”

“You found the data that Admiral Hackett was looking for and got it out. You saved six people from that base, and we made it out alive. We fought multiple Reapers and survived. That is a mark of perseverance, not defeat.”

Shepard swallowed, her eyes locked on the dark crater in the picture. “But will others know that?”

Liara tapped a few keys on her console. “With the right information, yes.”

Shepard felt warm reassurance flutter beneath her skin. She allowed herself to smile. “Thanks, Liara.”

Liara glanced up from her console. “My pleasure.”

Shepard moved towards the door, but Liara caught her when she had only taken a few steps.

“One last thing,” she whispered, and pulled Shepard in for a kiss. Lynn welcome it, pressing her lips against Liara’s as her hands moved to Shepard’s waist. Lynn gently cupped Liara’s face to hold the kiss as long as possible. Shepard was tempted to press her tongue against Liara’s lips, but the notion was soon lost as Liara’s hands trailed down Shepard’s backside.

Shepard chuckled into the kiss.

Liara withdrew with a confused expression. “Do you not like that?”

“Oh, I do! It’s just…I’m a bit ticklish,” Shepard admitted.

A sly look filled Liara’s eyes. “Is that so? I’ll have to remember that.”

Shepard chuckled again. “Liara, what was that for?”

Liara’s face grew soft, the corners of her mouth slipping. “For nearly dying to a brute.”

Shepard nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Liara replied softly. She tucked a piece of Shepard’s dark hair away from her face.

“You’re alive. That’s what matters to me.”

Liara dropped her arms and returned to her console. “I have to get back to work, but I’m glad you came by.” She gazed at Shepard. “Maybe I’ll have to stop by your quarters sometime.”

Shepard smiled. “You should. The fish are quite nice.”

“Are they actually alive this time?”

“Hey, the last ones were high maintenance!” Shepard lowered her voice and admitted sheepishly, “I also bought an auto-feeder.”

Liara chuckled. “Then I look forward to seeing them. I’ll see you later, Shepard.”

“You too, Liara.”

Shepard turned and walked out the door, pausing outside to study the area. The low rumble of chatter continued. Through the windows into the medical bay Shepard saw the survivors being treated by Doctor Chakwas. There was a sense of routine in the area. Despite the war raging in the space beyond the ship, there was an effort to maintain some semblance of normal for as long as possible.

Lynn would find a way for them to keep that.

With fresh determination in her step, Shepard moved to the elevator to take her back to the CIC. As she ascended, she felt as if she stood upon the slope of a mountain, barely halfway to its peak. She had surpassed challenges already, but even greater obstacles lay ahead of her.

She would meet them without hesitation.

Shepard inhaled a single deep breath as the elevator doors opened. She stepped forward and entered the light of the command center once more.

 

_fin_

 


End file.
